Additively Manufactured Conformal Triply Periodic Minimal Surface Heat Exchanger Design and Evaluation

Authors

Tanner S. Barber, Air Force Institute of Technology
John S. Brewer, Air Force Institute of TechnologyFollow
Rama Subba Reddy Gorla, Air Force Institute of TechnologyFollow
Stephen Richter, Aerospace Systems Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory
Abdeel J. Román, Aerospace Systems Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory
Zachary J. Carner, Aerospace Systems Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Date

1-2026

Abstract

This work explored the process of designing and building a conformal, additively manufactured heat exchanger with a triply periodic minimal surface lattice. AlSi10Mg was selected as the build material due to its relatively low density, high thermal conductivity, and workability in both additively manufacturing with Laser Powder-Bed Fusion and post-build machining. A Schwarz-Diamond lattice structure with a cylindrical cell map was designed within the heat exchanger shell due to its high surface-area to volume ratio. Cell size between two models was varied, and resultant performance, in terms of pressure loss and total heat exchange, was measured against Reynolds number of the fluids to determine the degree of influence that lattice cell size had on performance.

Comments

The full conference paper is accessible by subscription or purchase from AIAA using the DOI link below.

Conference Session: Additive Structures

DOI

10.2514/6.2026-1669

Source Publication

AIAA SCITECH 2026 Forum

Recommended Citation

Tanner S. Barber, John Brewer, Rama Gorla, Stephen Richter, Abdeel J. Roman, Zachary J. Carner and Nathan Lewan. "Additively Manufactured Conformal Triply Periodic Minimal Surface Heat Exchanger Design and Evaluation," AIAA 2026-1669. AIAA SCITECH 2026 Forum. January 2026.